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A scalable EV charging solution lets a commercial building add charging in stages while planning for the electrical capacity, parking use and operating systems needed to expand later. The VersiCharge XL concept described in the original article was a Siemens Smart Infrastructure and Nexii prototype reported in 2022—not proof of a standard product currently available for purchase. For most building owners, the practical starting point is to match charging to vehicle dwell time, assess the building and utility service, and reserve capacity for future growth.
What was the VersiCharge XL concept?
Building Design + Construction reported on March 8, 2022, that Siemens Smart Infrastructure and Nexii had developed VersiCharge XL, an above-ground, enclosed structure intended to house charging electrical infrastructure. The concept was designed to resemble a fueling station and was presented for settings ranging from office parking lots to logistics hubs and stadiums.
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The reported prototype combined Nexii building products with Siemens charging and electrical-infrastructure capabilities. Its materials and systems included Nexiite, a Nexii material, and Siemens Sentron Busway systems. The article said development took six months and installation at Siemens’ research and development hub in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, took three days. Those are reported timings for that specific prototype, not a promise of how quickly another building can design, permit, construct or energize a charging installation.
The companies framed the project as a way to respond to growing demand for charging infrastructure. Those statements describe the partners’ aims; the published account does not establish measured operating results, independent performance validation or current commercial availability. Treat VersiCharge XL as a reported modular design concept, not as a confirmed off-the-shelf solution. Building owners considering a similar enclosure can still use the example to ask how electrical equipment, chargers, weather protection, access and future expansion should fit together.
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How should a building plan charging capacity?
Start with the vehicles and the time they will be parked, then size the charging system and electrical work to those needs. A scalable design is not simply a row of chargers with the highest available power rating: it is a staged plan that balances vehicle readiness, dwell time, site capacity, utility constraints and the cost of later expansion.
- Define who will charge. Identify whether the site serves employees, visitors, residents, delivery vehicles, a commercial fleet or a mix. Estimate vehicle counts, vehicle types, daily mileage, arrival and departure patterns, and the amount of charge each group needs before leaving.
- Map dwell time and departure needs. Vehicles parked through a workday can often charge at lower power over several hours. A short-stop site or fleet operation with tight turnaround windows may need more power, more ports, or a different operating schedule. A vehicle’s charging capability also limits the rate it can accept.
- Assess the whole electrical system. Review existing electrical hardware, panel capacity, building power and energy consumption—not just the panel nearest the parking stalls. Depending on charger choice and site capacity, the project may need new wiring, panel modifications or added panels, a larger transformer, utility-service changes, safety equipment or communications hardware.
- Choose an initial phase and a future phase. Determine how many ports are needed at opening and what growth would trigger the next phase. Reserve practical routes and space for conduits, equipment, parking access and electrical distribution where feasible. Confirm with the electrical engineer and local authority what can be installed or reserved under current code.
- Coordinate with the utility and permitting authorities. Ask the utility about available service capacity, transformer loading, upgrade requirements, tariffs and project timelines. Confirm permitting and adopted electrical, fire, building, accessibility, parking and zoning requirements with the authority having jurisdiction.
The DOE and NREL commercial-building guide emphasizes assessing existing infrastructure and energy use before installation. It also notes that a charging station does not necessarily draw its rated power throughout every session: actual charging depends on the vehicle, battery state and temperature, and charger. A design based only on charger nameplate ratings can therefore misrepresent both actual use and coincident site load; a design that ignores simultaneous charging can also leave too little capacity when vehicles need power together.
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Charger selection should reflect dwell time and vehicle needs. A DOE/NREL factsheet published in 2023 gives the following historical categories and example power values; these are not a current market survey or specifications for any particular product, and equipment and vehicle capabilities vary.
| Category in the 2023 guide | Example power in the guide | Broad use context described |
|---|---|---|
| AC Level 1 | 1.44 or 1.92 kW | Longer dwell settings, including some workplace charging |
| AC Level 2 | 5–19.2 kW | Longer dwell settings, as well as some commercial settings with shorter stops |
| DC fast charging | 80 kW | Short-stop commercial settings and some highway or truck-depot uses, depending on requirements |
| Extreme-fast category | 400 kW | Higher-power contexts, including highway and truck-depot settings |
These figures are included to illustrate the range of categories in that guide, not to prescribe charger selection. A vehicle cannot charge faster than its own charging system allows, and actual power varies during a session. For an office where cars stay parked for hours, multiple lower-power ports may be more useful than a few high-power units. For a fleet that must return vehicles to service quickly, the duty cycle and departure schedule may justify higher-power equipment—if vehicles, site electrical capacity and utility service can support it.
Electrical upgrades are a common planning issue, but historical figures should not be mistaken for a site forecast. The DOE/NREL factsheet cites an Electric Power Research Institute study from 2013 in which about 72% of Level 2 commercial installations required electrical-panel updates. That older result is evidence that panel work can be frequent; it does not predict the needs of a current building, nor does a panel upgrade alone resolve every possible transformer or utility-service constraint.
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How can managed charging make expansion easier?
Managed charging coordinates when and how much connected vehicles charge, helping allocate available site capacity among chargers while accounting for when vehicles need to be ready. It can make a phased system more useful by reducing unnecessary simultaneous demand, but it cannot replace a site assessment or disregard fleet readiness requirements.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe DOE Federal Energy Management Program’s smart-charge guidance identifies inputs such as fleet schedules, charger inventory, electricity rates, building loads, on-site generation and transformer capacity. For a commercial site, the owner should define the required outcome—for example, having assigned vehicles ready at departure—then confirm what data and controls the charger-management system needs to meet it.
Interoperability standards can help different parts of a charging system communicate, but naming a protocol in a specification does not guarantee that a particular integration will work. DOE guidance discusses OCPP for charger management and allocation, ISO 15118 for vehicle-to-charger data and plug-and-charge functionality, and OpenADR for utility demand response. Owners should specify the actual features, compatible versions, integrations, cybersecurity review and support obligations required for their project.
Where vehicles and charging equipment support it, bidirectional charging can send energy from a vehicle to a building or grid. The DOE guidance on managed and bidirectional charging stresses that both the vehicle and EVSE must support the function, and that the site must confirm its utility interconnection agreement permits reverse power flow. Do not build a financial case around grid-service revenue without confirming the technical, contractual and program conditions: DOE notes that incentives for vehicle grid services are not yet widely in place.
What do EV-capable, EV-ready and EV-installed mean?
These terms describe different stages of building preparation, not interchangeable labels for a working charging station. The DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center’s overview of codes and ordinances describes them as follows:
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- EV-capable: Panel capacity and conduit are reserved for charging circuits that may be added later.
- EV-ready: A complete circuit is installed, including panel capacity, raceway, wiring, receptacle and overcurrent protection.
- EV-installed: Charging equipment is installed.
Exact definitions, minimum space counts and requirements depend on the code and ordinances adopted in the project’s jurisdiction. A drawing that marks future charger locations does not necessarily meet an EV-capable or EV-ready requirement. Confirm the applicable definitions and any rules for accessibility, signage, parking-space layout, bollards, cord storage and use restrictions with the local authority before design is finalized.
Planning for electrical capacity during new construction or a major renovation can avoid some disruptive future work. DOE’s AFDC page reports that adding EV-ready elements after construction costs 4–6 times more than adding them during construction or a major renovation. It also cites the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project’s estimate that installing EV electrical equipment as part of new construction can reduce charging-station installation costs by up to 75% compared with a retrofit. These are attributed general figures, not guaranteed savings for a particular project; local labor, utility work, scope, code and site conditions determine actual costs.
What costs and operating responsibilities should be budgeted?
A charger’s purchase price is only one part of the project. A realistic budget should account for charging hardware, engineering, installation labor, wiring and panel work, transformer or utility-service upgrades, permitting, parking or land requirements, networking, payment fees, electricity and demand charges, and ongoing maintenance. Current local bids and utility tariffs are necessary for a useful estimate. The historical cost ranges in the 2023 DOE/NREL factsheet are dated and should not be treated as current prices.
Operating responsibility is a separate design decision. The DOE/NREL guide describes three broad approaches:
- Site-owned and site-operated: The host owns equipment and manages operations, billing, user support and maintenance. This provides direct control but requires staff and systems capable of handling those responsibilities.
- Third-party lease and operation: A provider leases and operates equipment for a fixed cost. The host should clarify the contract scope, service levels, access, costs and responsibilities over the agreement term.
- Site-owned equipment with contracted operations and maintenance: The host owns the hardware but hires a provider to handle some or all operating tasks. The contract should state who manages billing, maintenance, network access, user support and performance issues.
Networked chargers can support billing, monitoring, user communications, maintenance alerts and managed charging, but they generally cost more than non-networked equipment. The right choice depends on the host’s ability to operate the system, its metering and revenue goals, and the services it wants to manage in-house versus contract out. A charging plan should identify the party responsible for responding when equipment is offline, resolving payment issues and arranging repairs—not just the party that supplies the charger.
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What should a scalable design specification include?
A useful owner’s brief translates the project’s goals into requirements that engineers, utilities, equipment suppliers and operators can evaluate. It should include:
- Use case and demand assumptions: Vehicle types and counts, typical arrival and departure windows, daily mileage, dwell time, and the charge needed by departure.
- Charging layout: Initial port count, planned expansion, stall locations, cable reach, circulation, accessible spaces and any fleet-specific parking requirements.
- Electrical basis: Existing service and panel conditions, estimated loads, utility constraints, transformer capacity, proposed charger ratings and the approach to managing simultaneous charging.
- Future provisions: The planned stage for later ports and any conduit, space, panel or service provisions that can be installed or reserved now in compliance with local requirements.
- Controls and connectivity: Required management functions, billing and payment needs, reporting, building or fleet integrations, utility programs, network connectivity, cybersecurity expectations and supported protocol versions.
- Code and site coordination: Applicable adopted codes and ordinances, permitting, accessibility, fire and electrical review, signs, protective barriers and parking rules.
- Ownership and lifecycle: Equipment ownership, operations, user support, maintenance, replacement planning, electricity costs and contract responsibilities.
This framework also helps distinguish a modular enclosure from a scalable electrical plan. An enclosure may make equipment organization and future configuration easier, but it does not by itself create utility capacity, guarantee code compliance or solve charging operations. A project needs all three: an appropriate physical layout, sufficient and managed electrical supply, and a clear operating model.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should owners evaluate a modular charging enclosure?
Use the VersiCharge XL example as a prompt for project questions rather than as a universal design recommendation. Determine whether an enclosed or station-like structure suits the site, climate, parking circulation, accessibility, maintenance access and local permitting. Then verify how the enclosure accommodates the selected charging equipment, wiring, electrical distribution, communications and future ports.
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Ask vendors and designers to document how the proposed system scales: what can be added without replacing installed equipment, what electrical or civil work would be needed for each expansion phase, and which constraints remain dependent on the utility or site. Request the current product documentation, warranties, installation scope and operating requirements for any system under consideration. The 2022 report on the prototype does not establish those details for a present-day offering.
Finally, compare alternatives against the same assumptions. Evaluate intended use and dwell time; port count and power; building and utility capacity; load management and integration needs; networking, payments and maintenance; accessibility and code fit; ownership responsibilities; and lifecycle cost. Without defined site requirements and current proposals, ranking one charger or enclosure above another would not be meaningful.
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What is the practical takeaway for a building project?
Begin with vehicle needs and parking time, investigate building and utility capacity before choosing hardware, and design the initial installation so future stages are deliberate rather than improvised. Where a project is new construction or a major renovation, evaluate whether EV-capable or EV-ready provisions are appropriate under local rules and project economics. Managed charging can help make limited capacity serve more vehicles, but it must preserve required departure readiness and be supported by compatible equipment and operations.
The reported Siemens–Nexii prototype illustrates one possible modular physical approach, but the evidence available here does not confirm that it is a standard product today or demonstrate independent operating performance. The lasting lesson is broader: scalability comes from coordinating the building, electrical service, utility, vehicles and operating plan—not from a charger enclosure alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will an EV charger always charge at its advertised power rating?
No. The DOE/NREL commercial-building guide says actual charging rate depends on the vehicle, battery state and temperature, as well as the charger. A rated power figure is therefore not a guarantee of the power a vehicle receives throughout a session.
Can a building earn money by sending EV power back to the grid?
Potentially, but only when the vehicles and charging equipment support bidirectional charging and the utility agreement allows reverse power flow. DOE notes that vehicle-grid-service incentives are not yet widely in place, so revenue should not be assumed without confirming local program and contract terms.
Does a modular charging station automatically make a project future-proof?
No. A modular enclosure can be one part of a design, but future expansion still depends on electrical service, utility capacity, equipment compatibility, site layout and local approvals. Confirm expansion requirements in current documentation and project plans rather than inferring them from a prototype description.
